Mother, child hit by car on pedestrian crossing; driver arrested

Not sure about this particular case, however in Japan in many cross roads in Japan,

pedestrian won't pay attention with their surrounding when crossing.

sakurasukiToday  07:08 am JST

Not sure about this particular case, however in Japan in many cross roads in Japan, 

pedestrian won't pay attention with their surrounding when crossing.

You mean the drivers are not paying attention to the road? Don’t forget who has an obligation by law to stop if a pedestrian wants to cross. Every day I see drivers who are not stopping, their licenses shouls be revoked on the spot.

@WeiWei

Driver are also human, they are prone to error. Need to have both pedestrian and driver to avoid accidents. Once accidents happen, lives are gone, what you gonna do?

stopping at pedestrian crossings is the law here, but coming to a full stop is, in my experience, quite rare and not stopping at all is all too common.

"Police arrested Junichi Akiyama, 55..." whom I am more than willing to wager was at the time of the accident, distracted by his stupidphone while operating his motor vehicle...

From 2021:

https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/only-30-percent-of-japanese-drivers-stop-for-pedestrians-at-crosswalks-survey-says

This seems pretty accurate as I regularly find that about 6-7 cars pass by before one stops at a crossing. For a society so hell-bent on following rules, driving rules (laws) seem a little less important.

I have often scolded my wife when crossing a street as she never checks to verify it's safe to do so. This is so common, pedestrians have a responsibility to themselves NOT to get killed. I'm NOT saying that drivers aren't at fault, of course they are but as stated in the story, the incident occurred on a straight road, should have been easy to spot the oncoming car and this mother had a responsibility to protect her child. Just common sense!

For a society so hell-bent on following rules, driving rules (laws) seem a little less important.

If there's one thing society loves more than following rules, it's following the social hierarchy. My guess would be that automobile drivers see themselves as "above" pedestrians, and think that the pedestrians should be the ones adjusting to them, regardless of what the law might say.

ThonTaddeo

You got it exactly.

If I’m the Japanese driver and you’re the Japanese pedestrian: Well, I’m bigger than you, even if I’m supposed to stop.

Also, if I’m a car and you’re a scooter, I’m bigger than you!

If I’m a truck and you’re a car, I’m bigger than you!

That’s Japan. Top down rule. Also, bullying comes from this mentality.

The law is

車両等は、その進路の前方の横断歩道または自転車横断帯を横断し、または横断しようとする歩行者等があるときは、その横断歩道等の前で一時停止し、かつ、その歩行者等の通行を妨げないようにしなければならない。

一時停止し and しなければならない means coming to a complete stop if anyone is crossing or about to cross.

Enforcement is very poor, but that is the law and they will enforce it if you do hit someone.

My interpretation of "その歩行者等の通行を妨げないようにしなければならない" is is an "o-make" clause meant to deter idiots from slamming on their brakes on and stopping one millimeter before the line, thereby frightening the life out of some poor obaachan. It should not be translated as "yielding" which would contradict the clear statement of 一時停止. This means a complete stop and you will be fined if a copper spots your car not fully stopping at a stop sign.

Corey - I agree with the basics of your sentiments.

Unfortunately there is also the flipside element.

Pedestrians not being observant or cautious because it's not my responsibility it's you Bigger guys.

Cyclists/ Scooters not being observant or cautious because it's not my responsibility it's you Bigger guys.

I find in my city a general lack of awareness by many road users of all ilks resulting in the dependence on others. They will look after me attitude.

Famous Japanese psychiatrist Takeo Doi refers to this overly-reliant mentality as a condition of the concept of Amae 甘え.

Re the story at hand in the article we don't know, and there is a strong possibility the driver was negligent.

But for the moment we can't rule out the case of the mother not being observant or cautious.

Hope they can make a full recovery.

"Mother, child hit by car on pedestrian crossing; driver arrested."

This tragic hopefully the mother recovers . Some one once said wisdom is looking on both sides of the road even when the light is green for you to cross the road. At times we have distracted drivers or pedestrians.

3RENSHOToday  08:50 am JST

"Police arrested Junichi Akiyama, 55..." whom I am more than willing to wager was at the time of the accident, distracted by his stupid phone while operating his motor vehicle...

What a stupid comment to make, you have no idea.

browny1

I know what you’re saying. I don’t know the facts of the case. But I always see people afraid to cross the pedestrian crosswalk because of the “bigger guy”. The bigger guy knows they are afraid and that’s why they take advantage.

Myself, I ride a scooter ( carefully ) and I know how car drivers hate them, glare at them, even cut them off. And this hot weather making them even more irritable. Scary.

@ThonTaddeoToday  09:02 am JST

Exactly, hierarchy rules. But at the same time, the responsibility is at the top. The car will almost always take the responsibility for any accident. So with power comes consequences.

Don't know the full story here and I am not blaming the pedestrian at all, but I often see people walking parallel to the road and then walk right into the crosswalk without looking. Pretty hard for a car that is at speed to suddenly stop in that situation. People on bicycles, especially women with children on the backseat are notorious for this in my area. I always pay full attention to them until the situation is no longer dangerous and all drivers need to be as attentive as possible. Hope the woman makes a full recovery and I hope there is some footage somewhere that can give us a better idea of how it happened.

In my area most drivers are pretty good at stopping, but it is definitely getting worse. Few weeks back outside my office I was walking on a pedestrian crossing and a guy on a motorbike came speeding along and blasted his horn. So I took even more time and made sure he stopped.

Bus drivers are excellent and taxi drivers are some of the worst I’ve found.

100% the driver fault and what the pedestrian did or did not is irrelevant. Dont try to blame the victim.

Even though it is incumbent upon pedestrians to make sure it is safe to cross, especially when accompanied by children, it is the driver's legal responsibility to stop for pedestrians in a crosswalk.

So, even if this tragedy may have possibly been avoided by the mother pedestrian being more attentive and/or proactive, it is still 100% the driver's fault, both legally and morally, as they are required to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks, including being alert for pedestrians before even reaching the crosswalk. That's what those diamonds painted in the road are warning the driver to do.

That's what those diamonds painted in the road are warning the driver to do.

They are frequently worn and hard to see, and on dark roads the crossings are often unlit and the signs hard to see.

I don't know if they are considerations for the inconsiderate Japanese drivers who zoom through them though. I often see one car stop and the opposite car(s) not stop.

Holding up your hand like the kids do seems to work well though, although you do feel a bit foolish having to do it.

Cops need to focus more attention on them than the ubiquitous 止まれ sign traps in my opinion.

WasabiToday  02:42 pm JST

100% the driver fault and what the pedestrian did or did not is irrelevant. Dont try to blame the victim.

I guess any blame that may fall onto the victim is that a mother failed to keep her daughter safe.

They had every right to step onto the crossing, blessed by the protection of the letter-of-the-law.

But looking left looking right looking left again and making eye contact with any oncoming traffic would be the appropriate behaviour before stepping out.

If she did this and the driver still hit them - well he's 100% negligent.

My point is - It's no good being in the Right and Dead.

Better Safe than Sorry.

@browny1

actually, as people drive on the left in Japan you should look right, then left, then right again.